NEW DELHI: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday announced a new set of relief measures to empower the sectors that have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Here are the key points from Sitharaman’s address:Rs 1.1 lakh crore loan guarantee scheme for Covid affected sectors* Finance minister announced Rs 1.1 lakh crore loan guarantee scheme, comprising Rs 50,000 crore coverage for health sector and Rs 60,000 crore for other sectors.
* Amount of Rs 50,000 crore for healthcare sector aimed is at scaling up medical infrastructure targeting under reserved areas.
* Guarantee cover for expansion and new projects related to health, medical infrastructure in cities other than eight metropolitan cities Additional Rs 1.5 lakh crore for emergency credit line guarantee scheme* Additional Rs 1.5 lakh crore has been announced for emergency credit line guarantee scheme that was launched as part of Atma Nirbhar Bharat Package in May last year.
* Under ELGS scheme, limit of admissible guarantee and loan amount proposed to be increased above existing level of 20 per cent outstanding on each loan * Overall cap under ELGS of admissible guarantee to be raised from Rs 3 lakh crore to Rs 4.5 lakh crore * Credit guarantee scheme will facilitate loans to 25 lakh persons through micro finance institutions (MFIs) for a maximum tenure of three years.
* Under this, guarantee will be provided to scheduled commercial banks for loans to new or existing NBFC-MFIs for on lending up to Rs 1.25 lakh to approximately 25 lakh * As per the credit guarantee scheme, guarantee up to 75 per cent of default amount will be provided for up to three years through National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC) Boost for tourism sector* Providing a boost for tourism sector, Sitharaman announced financial support to more than 11,000 registered tourist guides/travel and tourism stakeholders * The scheme will cover 10,700 regional level tourist guides recognised by ministry of tourism and those recognised by state governments.
It will also cover travel and tourism stakeholders (TTS) recognised by ministry of tourism.
* Loans will be provided with 100 per cent guarantee up to Rs 10 lakh for TTS and Rs 1 lakh for tourist guides licensed at regional or state level Free tourist visas to first 5 lakh tourist* Free tourist visas will be given to first 5 lakh tourists; scheme will be applicable till March 31, 2022 or till 5,00,000 visas are issued, whichever is earlier * The free tourist visa scheme comes with a total financial implications of Rs 100 crore Extension of Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana * The Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana has been extended till March 31, 2022.
The scheme was launched on October 1 last year to provide incentives for employers to create nee employment, restore loss of employment through EPFO.
* The approved outlay under this scheme was Rs 22,810 crore for 58.50 lakh estimated beneficiaries.
Last date to register will June 30, 2021.
Extension of Pradhan Mantri Gareeb Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKYAY)* PMGKAY scheme has been further extended till November 2021.
* Under this 5kg food grains will be provided at free of cost to NFSA beneficiaries.
* The scheme was launched from April-June 2020 but was extended till November 2020.
However, in wake of second Covid wave the scheme was relaunched in May 2021.
* Estimated financial implications will be Rs 93,869 crore, bringing the total cost of PMGKY to Rs 2,27,841 crore Additional Rs 23,000 crore for public health * The new scheme will increase the availability of ICU beds, oxygen supply at central, district and sub-district level and also ensure availability of equipment, medicines, access to tele-consultation and ambulance services.
* Additional Rs 23,200 crore will be spent in the next one year with focus on short term emergency preparedness having special emphasis on children and pediatric care and pediatric beds.
Revival of North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation (NERAMAC)* The scheme aims to enhance agricultural, procurement, processing and marketing infrastructure in the North East.
* It proposes to set up North-Eastern Centre for organic cultivation, facilitating equity finance to entrepreneurs.
* The revival package of Rs 77.45 crore has been proposed for financial restructuring and infusion of funds into NERAMAC Rs 33,000 crore boost for projects exports through National Export Insurance Account (NEIA)* The NEIA Trust which promotes medium and long-term (MLT) project exports by extending risk cover.
* It provides covers to buyer’s credit, given by EXIM Bank to less creditworthy borrowers and supporting project exporters.
* The Centre has proposed additional corpus to NEIA over 5 years to allow it to underwrite additional Rs 33,000 crore of project exports.
Rs 80,000 crore boost to Export Insurance Cover* The Centre has proposed to infuse equity in Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) over 5 years to boost export insurance cover by Rs 88,000 crore Digital India: Rs 19,041 crore for broadband network in each village* The Centre has proposed to expand and upgrade BharatNet to cover all Gram Panchayats and inhabited villages through the PPP model Extension of tenure of PLI scheme for large scale electronics manufacturing* The scheme provides incentive of 6 per cent to 4 per cent on incremental sales of goods under target segments that are manufactured in India for a period of five years.
The scheme has now been extended by a year till 2025-26.